Game apparatus



(No Model.)

,F. H.ADAMS.

. GAME APPARATUS. No. 480,056. Patented Aug. 2, 1892..

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FRANK H. ADAMS, OF RUTHERFORD, NEIV JERSEY.

GAME APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 480,056, dated August 2, 1892.

Application filed August 22, 1891- Serial No. 403,380. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK I-I. ADAMS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Rutherford, county of Bergen, and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Checker-Boards, of which the following is a description in such full, clear, and exact terms as will enable any one skilled in the art to which my invention relates or with which it is most nearly connected to make and use the same in the form at pres ent preferred by me and to enable them to understand its nature, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming part of this specification, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

My invention consists of certain novel parts and combinations of parts particularly designated in the claims concluding this specification.

I will now preparatory to pointing out in the claims the novel features, thus distinguishing what is old from what is new, describe the checker-board shown in the drawing, which illustrates myinvention embodied in the form at present preferred by me; but it will be understood that my invention is not limited to the precise form shown, as various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention and without exceeding the scope of my claims.

The drawing shows a checker-board composed of the ordinary number of squares, sixty-four in all, thirty-two being black and thirty-two white, the white and black alternating in the well-known way. Of these the first three rows from each end (rows one, two, three and six, seven, eight) are those on which the checkers stand when play begins, and these rows are designated herein the initialplaying rows. The squares in said rows on which the checkers stand I designate the initial-playing squares. Some of these initialplaying squares, but not all, are marked with stars. Instead of designating these squares by stars, any other mark or symbol or color or absence of mark or symbol or color differentiating some of the squares from the others might as well be employed. The black squares are those upon which the checkers are placed and upon which the game is played. The disis kept of the points made.

tinguishing-marks referred to are therefore put on the black squares. The black squares are lettered A and the white squares B. In the drawing I have designated by a distinguishing-mark the following squares: second row from the left, sixth row from the top, and last row; third row from the left, top row, and third row from the top; sixth row from the left, sixth row from the top, and last row; seventh row from the left, top row, and third row from the top. It will be observed that corresponding squares on each division of the board are marked with stars. Other squares might be selected for designation.

The ordinary game of checkers may be played on the board shown. The object of differen tiating some of the initial-playing squares from the others is to adapt it to a gamediffering somewhat from checkers in that different values or rules relate to the designated or undesignated squares.

As an example of the game which may be played 011 such aboard, giving the designated squares special values, I will describe what I call progressive checkers, in which a tally In this game a special value is attached to moving on a designated square in the first row on the opponents side of the board, and a special, preferably a higher, value is attached to moving on a designated square in the king-row on the opponents side of the board. This, however, does not apply to moves made with a king. In connection with this feature of the game I prefer to give a value to every jump made. These details may of course be largely varied but the values which I at present attach to the various moves are: jumping one man counts five; jumpingoneking, ten; jumpingtwo men in one move, fifteen; jumping one man and one king in one move, twenty; jumping three men in one move, twenty-five; jumping three men in one move, one or more of which is a king, fifty; jumping four men in one move, fifty; jumping four men in one move, one or more of which is a king, seventy-five; moving on a designated square in the first row on opponents side of the board, twenty; moving on a designated square in the king-row on opponents side of the board, thirty; removing opponents last checker from the board, one

hundred. Moving a king onto a designated square does not count. The person having the largest score wins the game.

Instead of giving different values to the designated and undesignated initialplaying squares, a game resembling chess in some of its essential features may be played on my new board by applying different rules to moves to and from the designated and undesignated initial-playing squares. In chess different rules apply to the moves of different chessmen wherever they may be on the board. In this game different rules apply to the moves from and to the designated and nudesignated squares. For example, a checker moving to or from a designated square may move to the next playing-square across a white square, while a checker moving to or from an undesiguated square moves only diagonally, as in the ordinary game. Any other suitable game may, however, be played on my improved board.

I am aware it is not new to number all the operating or initial-playin g squares of a checker-board, so that the said squares may bear on their faces figures having a common devisor, the opposing checker-men being correspondingly numbered, so that the respective number of each of the twelve men on either side may be capable under multiplication by this determined common factor to correspond in multiplicand to one of the numbered squares upon the board, as such is described in patent to Nutting, No. 191,169, and I do not, therefore, claim such an arrangement of parts.

Having thus described a board embodying my invention in the form I now prefer and having described a game to the playing of which it is, among others, adapted, What I claim is 1. A checker-board in which some, but not all, of the initial-playing squares are differentiated from the others by suitable marks, symbols, or colors.

2. Achecker-board in which theinitia1-playing squares on the third and seventh rows from the left on the opposite sides of the board are differentiated from the others by suitable marks, symbols, or colors.

FRANK IT. ADAMS. \Vitnesses:

J. EDGAR BULL, M. WILsoN. 

